2/11 From 2000: Yas, Eric, Doug & Danny Sign, Manny - Latin HoF, Boom! TRS, Scouts Shift, Garth Reports; RIP Chuck
- 2001 – Three Rivers Stadium, the home of the Pirates since 1970, was imploded before a full complement of TV cameras and thousands of onlookers. Roberto Clemente’s 3,000th hit, Mike Schmidt’s 500th home run, the 1994 All Star game and a couple of World Series championships were part of the sometimes unappreciated park’s 30-year baseball legacy.
- 2003 – New GM Dave Littlefield cleaned house in his scouting department by firing Mickey White, Brandon Bonifay, Ken Parker and George Zuraw, who were all top guns under former GM Cam Bonifay. It didn’t take a fortune-teller to predict their time was short; Littlefield had raided the Marlin staff for three scouts earlier and brought in a fourth Fish, Doug Strange, a former Bucco, to replace them. The Florida scouts were in a state of flux as the team was in the process of being sold to Jeffrey Loria and Littlefield swooped in to give them a new home.
- 2006 – Jackie Bowen was hired for a second stint in Bucco scouting, becoming an assistant to Dave Littlefield before moving up to national scouting supervisor after working from 1985-90 as a Bucco area scouting supervisor. He progressed from there to work for the Reds, Giants and Mets before returning home. And home it was as Jackie was the grandson of super scout Rex Bowen and was raised in the City’s South Hills, graduating from Mt. Lebanon HS and Pitt.
- 2007 – The Pirates inked eight-year veteran righty Danny Kolb (Gary’s cousin) to a minor league deal. He pitched three games for the Pirates in June, each with a one inning-two hits-one earned run line, and he spent the rest of the season with AAA Indianapolis before being released, pitching briefly for the New York Mets in 2008 before taking his final MLB bow.
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| Doug Mientkiewicz – 2008 Topps Heritage |
- 2008 – IF Doug Mientkiewicz (aka “Eye Chart” thanks to his last name) signed on as a free agent for $750K. The 34-year-old utility guy had a fairly solid year, hitting .277 in 125 games, then moved on to LA in 2009 to close out his 12-year career. He managed in the Tigers minor league system after stints with the Dodgers and Twins, and now operates a chartered boating business in the Florida Keys while helping out with some local amateur coaching.
- 2011 – Manager Chuck Tanner died at the age of 82 in New Castle. Captain Sunshine led the club from 1977-85 (the Bucs traded Manny Sanguillen to the A’s for Chuck’s services), winning the World Series in 1979 with the “We Are Family” gang and spending 10 more years as skipper for the White Sox, Athletics and Braves. The Coke Trials and consecutive last-place finishes in 1984-85 pushed him out of town, but he came back in 2007 as a Special Assistant to the GM.
- 2011 – C Manny Sanguillen was part of the second class to be inducted into the Latino Hall of Fame, located in La Romana, Dominican Republic. He was joined by Fernando Valenzuela, Luis Tiant, Edgar Martinez, Dennis Martinez, Andres Gallaraga and Rico Carty. Beisbol is a big deal in the DR; the ceremony was conducted by Dominican president Dr. Leonel Fernandez Reyna.
- 2016 – The Pirates signed veteran LHP Eric O’Flaherty, 31, to a minor league deal with a camp invite that was worth $1.75M if he made the roster. He had been a strong bullpen piece until a 2013 elbow injury laid him low. The lefty didn’t make the Bucco 25-man list, but he did break camp with a MLB deal after the Pirates sold him to Atlanta in late March. O’Flaherty had enjoyed his best years there, going 13-7/1.99 in 295 games for the Bravos between 2009-13, but the reunion tour was less successful – in two seasons, he got into 61 games with a line of 1-4/7.28, was released in July of 2017, and retired before the 2018 campaign.
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| Garth Brooks – 2019 Twitter |
- 2019 – The Bucco pitchers and catchers reported to camp with a surprise addition: singer Garth Brooks, who became a Bucco fan as a boy in Oklahoma, also showed up to shag some flies and take a couple of swings. Brooks spent a week in camp to mark the 20th anniversary of his Teammates for Kids Foundation, which has raised millions of dollars for children’s charities while pairing children with pro athletes. Garth played high school ball and the Pirates were the fourth camp he visited over the years to play some ball and promote his charity.
- 2021 – Pittsburgh filled a couple of bench holes by signing FA’s C Tony Wolter and OF Brian Goodwin to minor league/NRI deals. Wolters, 28, started for the Rockies in 2019-20 and hit .230. A lefty batter with a .238 lifetime BA in five MLB campaigns, he signed for $1.4M, but didn’t make the cut – he was released at the end of camp and was claimed by the Cubs; he announced his retirement after the year. Goodwin, 30, played five big league seasons with a .250 career BA and was another left-handed swinger. He had played all three OF spots and was with the Angels and Nats in 2020, hitting a combined .215 for the two clubs. His contract was worth $1.6M w/$900K in possible bonuses. He lasted until May as a AAA insurance policy, was released and went to the White Sox. He started ‘22 in the Mexican League and then played ball in China and the indie leagues. He hung the mitt up and Tony’s now a minor league coach in the Colorado organization.
- 2024 – While the rest of the nation was watching the Super Bowl, Ben Cherington and Yasmani Grandal were talking contract as the White Sox backstop agreed to a one-year/$2.5M plus incentives deal with the Bucs. The Pirates were rumored to be after Gary Sanchez to provide a veteran mentor for a young crew of catchers, but Milwaukee had the same idea and signed him for $7M, leaving Yasmani as the Bucs Plan B. For the 35-year-old, Pittsburgh was his fifth team as he entered his 13th year in the show. He caught 72 games with a line of .228 BA/9 HR/27 RBI and was Paul Skene’s caddy, but lost the starting job to mid-year pickup Joey Bart and is now a free agent.
Source: https://oldbucs.blogspot.com/2025/02/211-from-2000-yas-eric-doug-danny-sign.html
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